Lyrics Page
The Big Time
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Sep 27, 2026 updated
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Verified editorial review
Song Meaning
Newsboys build this one almost entirely out of Ecclesiastes' catalog of opposites — "a time for war, a time for peace... a time to cry and a time to laugh... a time to run and a time to stand." The list doesn't resolve into one lesson; it just keeps naming pairs.
The chorus applies that ancient list to a specific instruction: "ain't no use in looking back, keep on plowing straight ahead, nothin' left back in Egypt land when the big time comes around." Israel's exodus becomes the model for not looking backward at whatever's already been left behind.
The bridge states the point plainly after all the listing: "there's a time for everything, and now's the time to serve the King." Paul's own image of forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what's ahead, and Jesus' instruction to seek God's kingdom first, both sit behind a song that spends most of its runtime cataloging seasons before finally naming which one actually matters right now.
Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team
There's a time for war
There's a time for peace
A time to live and a time to die
A time to grieve and a time to dance
This time is for you
[Chorus]
Ain't no use in looking back, no
Keep on plowing straight ahead, yo
Nothin' left back in Egypt land
When the big time comes around
There's a time to cry
And a time to laugh
A time for throwing away
There's a time for death and a time for life
Now's the time for you
There's a time to run
And a time to stand
A time for looking ahead
There's a time to stay
And a time to go
This time it's for you
[Repeat Chorus]
[Bridge]
There's a time for everything
And now's the time to serve the King
There's a time for all to see
And now's the time for you and me
[Repeat Chorus 2x]